The United States is a country founded on the right to a trial by jury. Yet, juries decide fewer than four percent of criminal cases today and fewer than one percent of civil cases. The widespread use and growth of plea bargaining (where prosecutors offer a reduced jail sentence for a plea before trial and threaten more jail if the Defendant takes his case to a jury and loses) to clear crowded dockets, is the reason. This practice raises serious constitutional questions according to a University of Illinois College of Law professor. Read the article.
Image: Public Domain; “The Jury” by John Morgan, painted in 1861. The author died in 1885, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author’s life plus 100 years or less. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1923.
